Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes

Authors: Ms. Laila E. Mendoza, Ms. Cristina M. Cruz, Ms. Sharmaine

Arvy J. Myhre
Editors: Mrs. Crista E. Macale and Mr. Jaycie B. Robles
Reviewers: Mr. Elmar A. Cundangan and Mr. Victor T. Reyes

LESSON 3: WRITING PARAGRAPHS

Description of the Lesson:

For this week’s lesson, you will learn a profound perspective about writing paragraphs
and the structures of a paragraph. We would also like to assess if you are writing a
paragraph in the right way.
Are you ready to learn the structures of a paragraph?

Objectives (What I need to know)

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. determine basic paragraph structures;
2. compose a well-written paragraph; and
3. analyze paragraph structures of a given text.
Day 1
Pre- assessment (What I know)

Direction: Before we start with the new lesson, let’s have a short assessment of your prior knowledge
about paragraph. Answer the given question below and explain your answer in two to three sentences.
What is a paragraph?
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Great! I am looking forward to add a new input on what you already know about our lesson! Let us
now proceed to our Lesson Content!

Lesson Content (What’s new?)

What is a Paragraph?
➢ It is a piece of writing that usually consists of a series of sentences. A paragraph should always
have complete, correct, and concise sentences which must be all related to a certain topic. It should
be easy to read and is well-organized because the paragraph itself should focus on one subject,
theme, or central idea.

For example, you are going to write a paragraph about where your friend lives and then you are
about to describe her looks. Definitely, these two are separate ideas. In constructing a paragraph,
you are actually focusing on one main idea. Let’s have the demonstration below:

Sample 1: Anna (your best friend) lives in Plaridel, Bulacan, with her parents and two siblings,
she has her own bedroom, which she decorated herself. She and her family all lived comfortably
in the cozy apartment on the third floor. The apartments were only three blocks away from where
she attends her senior high.
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 Sample 2: Anna is eighteen years old, and she is extremely smart, she is not that tall, and she is a
bit on the skinny side. She has black eyes, light brown hair, rosy cheeks, and a friendly smile. Just
looking at her, she seemed like any other girl—quite normal. Yet, everyone in her class looks at
her differently because Anna could never be a normal girl. Instead, she isn’t normal. No, she is a
genius.

By looking at the examples above, you can notice that the first paragraph is all about where Anna
lives while the second paragraph covers another topic or idea, which is what Anna looks like.
When examining a paragraph, always ask yourself, “What is the main idea in this paragraph?” If
you see two ideas as in the above example, you might have to create two paragraphs.
When we are creating a paragraph, we should always consider the three basic paragraph
structures- topic sentence, supporting sentence, and concluding sentence. Let’s know more about
these structures.
1. Topic Sentence

➢ When we say topic sentence, it is the part of paragraph which tells the main idea. The main idea
is what the paragraph all about. It is the most important idea in the paragraph
Always remember that topic sentence is the face of your paragraph; it is the first sentence that
your reader will see, so it should be catchy and at same time concise. It has two sentences which
are topic and main point.
Topic refers to who or what you are writing about while the main point includes the detail about
the topic.
Let’s have this example: Anna is an excellent student. She is intelligent. She is responsible. Anna
always does her homework. And she is never late for class. As a result of her hard work, Anna is
one of the best students in school.
In the above example, the first sentence is “Anna is an excellent student” therefore making it as
our topic sentence. The paragraph talks about Anna which makes her the topic and she is described
as “an excellent student” which serves as our main point.
2. Supporting Sentences

➢ It explains and supports the main idea. Sometimes supporting sentences give example, reason, and
steps in a process.

When writing supporting sentences, you should give examples, reasons, descriptions and/or
instructions to support your topic sentence, and usually it takes two to four supporting sentences
in a paragraph.

Let’s have again the given example: Anna is an excellent student. She is intelligent. She is
responsible. Anna always does her homework. And she is never late for class. As a result of her
hard work, Anna is one of the best students in school.

Do you think these supporting sentences gave example, reasons, or steps in a process? Definitely
yes! These supporting sentences provide variety of reasons as to why Anna is an excellent student.

3. Concluding Sentence

➢ A concluding sentence is a sentence at the end of the paragraph, which summarizes the information
that has been presented. You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in
reverse.
Always remember that your concluding sentence should not include any information that was not
discussed in the paragraph. To make it simple, concluding sentence is the summary of the previous
discussion.
Again, when we say concluding sentence, it should remind us of the topic sentence.
- It is the last sentence in a paragraph.
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 - It repeats the main idea in the topic sentences—but in different words
- It does NOT give new detail.
Still, let us stick to our example: Anna is an excellent student. She is intelligent. She is
responsible. Anna always does her homework. And she is never late for class. As a result of her
hard work, Anna is one of the best students in school.
As we can see, the last sentence in the above paragraph summarizes the ideas presented. It gives
emphasis on Anna as being one of the best students in school.
For better understanding, let’s have another set of examples.
Example 1:
Fruit is a healthy and tasty food. Fruits are delicious. Example of fruits are apples, oranges, and
bananas. Fruits have many vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Potassium.
For these reasons, it is a good idea to eat lots of fruit.
Topic Sentence: Fruit is a healthy and tasty food.
Supporting Sentences: Fruits are delicious. Example of fruits are apples, oranges and bananas.
Fruits have many vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Potassium.
Concluding Sentence: For these reasons, it is a good idea to eat lots of fruit.

Example 2:

Walking is the best exercise. First, walking is free, so people don’t need to buy a gym membership
to do it. Secondly, people can walk wherever they live. Third, studies show that walking outside not
only burns calories but also helps a person feel happy and optimistic. For these reasons, walking is
an excellent form of exercise.

Topic Sentence: Walking is the best exercise

Supporting Sentences: First, walking is free, so people don’t need to buy a gym membership to do
it. Secondly, people can walk wherever they live. Third, studies show that walking outside not only
burns calories but also helps a person feel happy and optimistic.
Concluding Sentence: For these reasons, it is a good idea to eat lots of fruit.

We are now done with the discussion! I hope you learned something today. Should you wish to
clarify some parts of the lesson? Feel free to raise your concerns.

Day 2
Review

Yesterday, we discussed the meaning of paragraph and its three basic structures. Today, kindly
recall (What
Practice what you’ve
Is It) learned by re-reading the lesson for we are going to test your understanding of
it. Are you ready to show off your understanding of the lesson?

Practice (What is it?)

Direction: For this activity, read the statements carefully and identify what is being asked. Use the word
bank to help you in supplying the words in each sentence. Please note that each word will be used only
once.

Paragraph Topic Supporting Sentence

Main point Topic Sentence Sentences

Concluding Sentence Main Idea
__________1. This structure usually comes at the beginning of a paragraph.

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__________2. This structure is the sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information
that has been presented.
__________3. This structure is consist of several sentences that are grouped together that discuss one
main subject.
__________4. It is the most important thought about the topic.
__________5. This supports or explains the idea expressed in the topic sentence.
Day 3
Valuing/Integration (What’s more?)

Today, we are going to do an activity that will test your ability to construct a well-written
paragraph by sharing your real-life experiences. This activity will replay some moments of your
life. Are you excited to have a walk on your memory lane?

Direction: Using the 3 basic paragraph structures, construct a well-written paragraph about your favorite
movie. Do this on a separate sheet of paper.

Day 4
Application (What I can do)
Yesterday, you had a walk on your memory lane. Today, let’s test your ability to analyze and
scrutinize some paragraphs.

Read the paragraphs below. Using your ballpen or pencil, kindly underline the topic sentence, circle the
supporting sentences and box the concluding sentence in each paragraph.
1. Having a cell phone can help children in several ways. Children who have a cell phone can call
for help in an emergency. Also, they can always communicate with their parent, finally, cell phones
help children stay in contact with friends. For these reasons, when possible, children should have
a cell phone.
2. People should not drink soda. Soda is an unhealthy drink. It contains a lot of sugar. Also, soda
contains caffeine and other chemicals that are not nutritious. For these reasons, people should
avoid drinking soda.
3. My family went to the supermarket together. My mom let us sample a free cookie. It was really
delicious. Then we were able to choose our own lunch snacks. I always chose chicken. When
checking out, my dad gave us each a quarter for the bubble gum machine. Indeed, it was fun going
to the supermarket.
4. A dog is one of the helpful animals that consist of a fluffy hairy body. Dogs help in protecting a
house from thieves and fraud people during the night. There are so many breeds available on earth.
They love to enjoy their time with their owner and family. He also protects their family members
from strangers. Instead, they remain gentle and loyal to their family.
5. Friday is my favorite day because I spend the day at the beach with my family. I especially enjoy
Friday afternoons because the beach is empty. Therefore, we have the opportunity to play ball
games without disturbing anyone else. We also enjoy the delicious seafood at the local restaurant
and discuss our week and share stories. On Fridays, I am at my happiest because I get to relax at
my favourite place while spending time with the people I love the most.

Day 5
Post-assessment (What I have learned)

We are almost done for this week! I hope you learned a lot and that by now, you are more confident
in constructing your own paragraph. Today, we are going to continue scrutinizing and analyzing
some paragraphs.

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Carefully read the paragraphs below and answer the corresponding questions. Circle the letter of your
answer.
1. First, many schools, require two or more years of foreign language study for graduation. Secondly,
learning other languages helps us communicate with people from other countries. Also, knowing
a foreign language can lead to job opportunities. Finally, for many people, studying foreign
languages is fun! There are many reasons to learn a foreign language.
What is the best topic sentence?
a. It is important to learn foreign languages.
b. In the USA, many students study Spanish language cause it’s important.
c. In college, people need to know foreign language such as English Language.
2. People should not drink soda. Soda is an unhealthy drink. It contains a lot of sugar. This is why
soda is so delicious. Also, soda contains caffeine and other chemicals that are not nutritious. For
these reasons, people should avoid drinking soda.
Which supporting sentences does NOT belong in this paragraph?
a. It contains a lot of sugar.
b. Also, soda contains caffeine and other chemicals that are not nutritious.
c. This is why soda is delicious.
3. It is important to study history. History repeats itself, so learning about past can help us make
better decisions in the presents. Also, knowing about important historical leaders, wars, and events
can help us understand cultures, people, and politics in today’s world. Finally, learning about
unusual people, places, and events in history is fascinating! ____________
What is the best concluding sentence?
a. For these reasons, walking is an excellent form of exercise.
b. In conclusion, walking does not cost any money.
c. In summary, many people love to walk.

Congratulations! You’re done with this week’s learning guide about writing paragraphs. Did you have fun
while learning? What is your favorite part of the lesson and/or activity? Tell me more by filling in the
blanks below.
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Reminders:

d. 1. Keep this module together with the written outputs in a portfolio.

e. 2. Your opinion matters! Give your feedback or message regarding the lesson to
f. your teacher through text or messenger. You may also ask for clarification and
g. guidance in order to achieve the lesson’s goal.
h. 3. Enjoy your weekend!

Reference:
Menoy, J. (2016). English for Academic and Professional Purposes: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
BOOKS ATBP. PUBLISHING CORP.

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